Academics at Cambridge University are predicting another economic crisis

A rather gloomy report by academics at Cambridge University is published in The Times today. It predicts a global economic crash on much bigger scale than the 2008-2010 economic crisis. The reason for this impending Armageddon? The impact of renewable energy on the hydrocarbon sector.

We think they are missing the point; a decimated oil and gas industry might be bad news for places like Russia, Norway, Qatar and the Arabian Gulf but for economies which will no longer have to rely on imported energy supplies, this is great news. Cheaper energy - and lets face facts - wind and solar electricity is much cheaper than any conventional generation - will be a huge boon to developed economies such as Europe and Japan as well as the developing economies in Asia, Africa and South America as rapid economic growth creates ever bigger energy demands.

In fact, this report alludes to this when it describes how China, a big oil importer, is adopting wind and solar on a massive scale and its economy is reaping the benefits of cheaper energy. So not quite the apocalypse the academics are predicting.